China says Philippines sent supplies to beached warship at disputed shoal
Sign up now: Get insights on Asia's fast-moving developments
China’s coast guard said the supply run had proceeded “with permission” to what it considers an “illegally” beached ship.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Follow topic:
BEIJING – China said on Nov 15 the Philippines had sent supplies to a beached warship on Second Thomas Shoal
In a separate statement, the Philippine Coast Guard said it had rotated the personnel staffing the Sierra Madre and sent supplies to the vessel.
The China Coast Guard said the supply run had proceeded “with permission” to what it considers an “illegally” beached ship. The Philippine Coast Guard had no immediate response to China’s claim, which it has previously made, that it had allowed the mission to proceed.
China and the Philippines have traded barbs for months over manoeuvres at the Second Thomas Shoal, an atoll within Manila’s 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone in the South China Sea.
“It is hoped the Philippines will honour its commitments, work with China in the same direction, and jointly manage the maritime situation,” said Mr Liu Dejun, a spokesman for China’s coast guard, in a statement about the resupply run by the Philippines on Nov 14.
China claims almost the entire South China Sea
In 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague said China’s claims had no legal basis, a ruling Beijing rejects.
Tensions between Manila and Beijing have also escalated over Scarborough Shoal, which China seized from the Philippines after a months-long stand-off in 2012.
In November, Manila introduced new maritime laws to strengthen its claims at sea, while China announced baselines around Scarborough Shoal to bolster its claims. Both countries summoned each other’s ambassadors over the moves.
On Nov 15, China’s Defence Ministry spokesperson Zhang Xiaogang said the Chinese military would take “strong and resolute” measures to safeguard China’s territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests, and to counter “infringements and provocations”, according to a ministry statement.
He made the remarks in response to questions about the Philippines’ latest joint naval drills with the United States, a key ally, and other Western powers, as well as the new maritime laws. REUTERS
